KEEPING the brain active by working for longer may help stave off Alzheimer’s disease, research has found.

Working past normal retirement age could reduce the risk of developing the debilitating condition.

Scientists analysed data from 1,320 people with dementia, looking at education, employment and retirement, found a significant link between later retirement age and delayed dementia signs.

The research was led by Michelle Lupton, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College, London, and is reported in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

It found no link between education or employment and dementia risk, but found those who retire later prolong their mental abilities. However, another explanation for the findings was that early retirees stopped working earlier because of declining health and fitness in other areas, which often increases dementia risk.

More than 700,000 people in the UK alone have dementia – a number that is set to double within a generation.

Dementia costs the UK economy £17 billion per year and there is currently no cure or effective treatment.

Prof Simon Lovestone, scientific adviser to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust and the paper’s co-author, said: “The intellectual stimulation that older people gain from the workplace may prevent a decline in mental abilities, thus keeping people above the threshold for dementia for longer. ”